Ottawa eliminates Montreal in 5 games

Ottawa Senators' Kyle Turris (7) celebrates his goal on Montreal Canadiens goalie Peter Budaj as Canadiens' Tomas Plekanec (14) and P.K. Subban (76) look on during the second period of their Game 5 first round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal on Thursday, May 9, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)
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Ottawa Senators' Kyle Turris (7) celebrates his goal on Montreal Canadiens goalie Peter Budaj as Canadiens' Tomas Plekanec (14) and P.K. Subban (76) look on during the second period of their Game 5 first round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal on Thursday, May 9, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)
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Ottawa Senators' Zack Smith, center, celebrates with teammates Matt Kassian (28) and Erik Karlsson after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period of Game 5 first round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Thursday, May 9, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)— AP

Ottawa Senators' Zack Smith, center, celebrates with teammates Matt Kassian (28) and Erik Karlsson after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period of Game 5 first round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Thursday, May 9, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)
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Ottawa Senators left wing Cory Conacher (89) celebrates with teammate Jean-Gabriel Pageau after scoring the first goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period of Game 5 first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff, Thursday, May 9, 2013, in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)— AP

Ottawa Senators left wing Cory Conacher (89) celebrates with teammate Jean-Gabriel Pageau after scoring the first goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period of Game 5 first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff, Thursday, May 9, 2013, in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)
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Ottawa Senators' Cory Conacher (89) scores against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Peter Budaj during the first period of Game 5 first round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Thursday, May 9, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)— AP

Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (76) celebrates with teammates Andrei Markov (79) and Rene Bourque after scoring the first goal against the Ottawa Senators during the first period of Game 5 first round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Thursday, May 9, 2013, in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)— AP

Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (76) celebrates with teammates Andrei Markov (79) and Rene Bourque after scoring the first goal against the Ottawa Senators during the first period of Game 5 first round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Thursday, May 9, 2013, in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)
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Ottawa Senators' Jakob Silfverberg (33) picks up an interference penalty on Montreal Canadiens' Raphael Diaz during the second period of Game 5 first round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal on Thursday, May 9, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)— AP

Ottawa Senators' Jakob Silfverberg (33) picks up an interference penalty on Montreal Canadiens' Raphael Diaz during the second period of Game 5 first round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal on Thursday, May 9, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)
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Ottawa Senators center Kyle Turris (7) celebrates with teammates Erik Condra (22) and Chris Phillips (4) after scoring the fourth goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period of Game 5 first round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series, Thursday, May 9, 2013, in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)— AP

MONTREAL 
One thing the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens agreed on at the end of their sometimes-bitter playoff series was it all came down to goaltending.

Craig Anderson's rock-solid play and some shaky moments for Montreal backup Peter Budaj put the Senators through to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 6-1 romp Thursday night.

Ottawa won the best-of-seven series 4-1 and will move on for the first time since 2007, when they lost in the Stanley Cup finals to the Anaheim Ducks.

"Finding a way to win two games in this building feels great and so was being able to finish it off on our first chance," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "Andy made some great saves and we took over more and more as the game went on."

Anderson, who posted heady numbers in the regular season, was just as sharp in the playoffs, holding the usually high-scoring Canadiens to nine goals in five games. His own supposedly low-scoring team piled on 20 against Montreal starting goalie Carey Price and Budaj.

"For our team, Craig Anderson obviously was the MVP of this playoff series," said Ottawa coach Paul MacLean. "He was outstanding in every game.

"He gives us a chance to bend but not break, to recover, get our bearings. And once we do that, we're able to establish our game."

He got no argument from his Montreal counterpart, Michel Therrien.

"He was the player of the series," Therrien said.

Anderson made the difference right off the bat in this one.

Injury-wracked Montreal came out quickly, but Anderson shot out his glove for a brilliant save on Rene Bourque in the opening moments.

At the other end, a clearly nervous Budaj, making his first career playoff start, coughed up a huge rebound on Ottawa's first chance. Zack Smith put it in only 2:17 into the game.

"I think everyone took a good deep breath after that and said, `We can start playing now,'" Anderrson said of the save. "They came out hard.

"My job is to give the team a chance to win no matter if it's the first minute or the last."

Therrien avoided direct reference to Budaj's play, other than: "We came to play and we worked hard, but every time. . . (the Senators) capitalized on their chances, let's put it that way."

The first playoff meeting in the modern era between the teams only two hours apart on highway 417 featured some nasty moments and name calling. But at the end only kind words were voiced, although the coaches exchanged only the briefest of handshakes on the ice.

The series opener saw Montreal center Lars Eller carried off on a stretcher with the Bell Centre ice covered in blood from a hit by Eric Gryba. MacLean's defense of his defenseman prompted Canadiens tough guy Brandon Prust to call him a "bug-eyed, fat walrus."

Game 3 disintegrated into a full-scale brawl and more verbal exchanges.